The P55 Extreme is an example of Asrock’s new vision on motherboard development. The P55 Extreme is the second highest model of the four motherboards from Asrock released on September 8th. The other three models are the Deluxe, Pro and M Pro which is their micro ATX version. The Extreme offers all the options and features that make Gigabyte, ASUS and MSI P55 the great motherboards they are: high quality capacitors, a well planned out overclocking BIOS and a beautifully layout. However, is it enough to warrant your hard earned money? We will see.
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Along with AMD’s launch of the Phenom II and Athlon II processor families this year, we’ve also witnessed a steady shift in focus from their AM2+/DDR2 platform to a full AM3/DDR3 platform. The good news is that these newer AM3 processors support both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, allowing consumers to upgrade without replacing their whole system. Still, that leaves many wondering if they’re missing out by not making the jump to DDR3 memory. To help answer that question, today Benchmark Reviews puts Gigabyte’s DDR2-based MA790X-UD4P motherboard to the test.
MSI should be applauded for bringing Intel’s X58 chipset to the masses at a sub-£150 price point. Sure there are full-size motherboards that offer better performance and overclocking features, but for mainstream users building a MicroATX-based machine the X58M is fantastic value. The motherboard offers an almost perfect balance of features and performance, and would make a great choice for a high performance small form factor multimedia (HTPC) or gaming system. Zotac’s GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi impressed me a couple of months ago, but it is restricted to Intel’s legacy LGA775 socket and DDR2 memory. If you want a bleeding-edge MicroATX motherboard at an amazing price, the X58M is a no brainer.
Well it seems that not all rumors are true, in fact most are not and in the case of Foxconn leaving the motherboard business… well that was never the case.
The Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P was a motherboard that gave us no reason to complain about anything. We had no issues at all using the board. In fact, at the end of testing there was nothing that stood out negative about the board at all. Maybe some wishes, but we have those with every board we look at…
Today, we have a look at the Asus AM2+ motherboard, the M3A78-T, which is one of the higher-end motherboards from their AM2+ series. It comes with HD3300 onboard GPU which we overclocked to the limit… and beyond, running Crysis at 1280×1024 at 30fps! 
